The topic of parking cars and driver rights to effectively park where they like legally in residential areas is often a hot topic.
A search online quickly identifies a split of opinion on the subject with comments quickly turning nasty. Some will complain of cars/vehicles parked outside their houses. Others will just say while an inconvenience, they accept that others can park where they wish.
The reality of course is that any driver can park where they wish if parked legally and for however long they like with no time limit. The main requirement of course is that the vehicle is taxed and insured and legally/sensibly parked. As car owners, we all likely park on streets sometimes and we follow any local restrictions.
Some areas of course combat problem parking with parking permits and yellow lines/time limits when near town centres. Though I suspect this may create new issues while solving some.
My own thoughts on this subject is that the actions of a minority spoil it for all. The main issue in my opinion appears to be timing and the length that a vehicle is left parked – cars being left long term in the same spot.
Cars being dumped appears to be becoming an increasing issue. If no MOT, tax or insurance, action can be quickly taken. The difficulty is the many cars legally parked for unreasonable timescales…
I know of a car that did not move from my residential road for over 6 months because it needed repair and was left outside another residents house. It was only after the tax and insurance ran out (about 6 months later) that the car was finally removed by the local authorities. The owner just left it there until forced to act, while it had become an eyesore and they had not repaired it. I also know of an example where a vehicle was just used for the storage of the owners unwanted junk for the remaining period it was classed as taxes etc.
Many other reports of parking issues online will often mention issues with households with multiple cars parked on streets and work vans. Poorly parked vehicles on pavements or taking up too much space on the road will often raise tensions as well e.g a single car parked centrally in a bay that could take two cars.
Likely too many issues to resolve in a straightforward manner though solutions could exist if felt more laws were needed. If we want the freedoms to street park and avoid issues, mostly it is down to vehicle owners to be more considerate od each other. If a car is regularly used, you of course have to park somewhere and that can be a challenge with shortages of parking in some areas.
Maybe for street parking though you need one regulation that requires the car to be moved and vacated from its current parking spot (without immediate return to same parking spot) after a time period e.g 1 or 2 weeks. Timeframes are debatable but it could solve many issues whereby the owner has no intention of moving the vehicle while taxed/insured. Most would expect they need to turnover their car at the least to keep it road worthy and stop battery and tyres degrading etc.
This will of course not stop all issues where some have parked selfishly or without common sense but at least it may help manage some of the issue.
Do you have any ideas that could stop problem parking on residential streets? Please comment below.
